Some new mothers choose to take some time off after giving birth, Rebecca Grennan chose to write the script for her new cabaret show 'So Unusual: Confessions Of A Lauper Stalker', which will be showing in Brisbane as part of the Queensland Cabaret Festival.
With babe in arms, Grennan created the character of Sindi Lauper Gibson – the daughter of a Kingston hairdresser and a musical theatre 'wiggy' who is bent on one day meeting her idol, the fiery Cyndi Lauper. “She's this Australian character who's full of ambition, she's a bit delusional and she's a hairdresser, which I thought would work because Cyndi Lauper's hair is her big thing.
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“It's her story about being Cyndi's #1 fan and how her passion for hairdressing leads to her eventually meeting her idol which is where things start getting a little bit messy... It's the first show I've done as a mother, which has been a lot of work but I've got lots of support.”
A seasoned performer on the musical theatre circuit, Grennan is relishing the opportunity of being given total creative control. “I really enjoy shows where I get to write my own characters and I really enjoy the intimacy of cabaret compared to the grand scale of a musical. I mean musical theatre will always be my first love, but I find cabaret is more fulfilling because I get to have more of a creative input in it and I absolutely love pushing boundaries and seeing how far I can take things in the context of making people laugh or having them learn something through the art.”After the show at the Cabaret Festival, Brennan has big plans for the little show. “I want to take it to the Edinburgh Festival and interstate to Sydney and Melbourne, places that have some really great cabaret venues, so I'll take it down and get to work and reconnect with some old friends which will be nice.”
As well as being an active performer with a bunch of highly-acclaimed musicals and feature films under her belt, Brennan also runs a series of dance and life coaching classes, and encourages anyone with a dream or even just that little niggling feeling to just start creating. “You just have to keep pursuing it,” she says, and if Brennan’s multi-faceted success is any testament to her words, then maybe we should have a go at following it. But maybe first we should see ‘So Unusual: Confessions Of A Lauper Stalker.’ Just so we know how to deal with our crazy fans when we’re rich and famous after following Brennan’s words.'So Unusual: Confessions Of A Lauper Stalker' plays the Queensland Cabaret Festival at Brisbane Powerhouse, 13 June.
